Collaboration
by Kraven Ergeist
Summary: \kə-ˌla-bə-ˈrā-shən\. noun. 1. the act of working jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something. e.g.: "Meteora asks Sota if he wants to work on a collaboration together." Sota x Meteora
1. Chapter 1

**Collaboration**

 **A Re:CREATORS Fan Fiction**

By Kraven Ergeist

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Mizushino Sota stared across the table of the small diner at a girl with pale blue eyes and off-white hair. He said nothing, thinking back on his history with this particular girl as she spoke to him through a mouthful of food. Although she, like their erstwhile companions, had once stood out like a sore thumb amongst the crowded streets of Japan, she had seemingly adapted to her new world with grace and poise.

But Sota knew all too well what the girl was. The casual green and blue outfit she wore and the croissant sandwich stuffed halfway into her face belied the creature that Meteora Österreich had once been in years prior.

In this world consisting of seven billion people, each and every one of them was capable of envisioning and encapsulating their experience into creations - stories potent enough that their characters seemed to come to life before their audience's very eyes. Little did anyone know, however, that such an occurrence had quite literally come to pass not three years prior, the works of various Creators giving rise to living beings known as Creations, individuals whose lives, personalities and abilities were determined not by birth, but through the craft of storytelling. It was also a little-known fact that the anger and despair of one such Creation had very nearly destroyed the fabric of reality, waging war on the Creators in an attempt to unmake them all. It was thanks to the efforts of many more of these Creations and their Creators that this battle had finally been won, their world once again brought back into balance.

Meteora had been one of these Creations.

She still was, in truth - though any magical ability she had possessed from her world had long since run dry. The rest of the Creations – the ones who had survived the battle - had returned to their worlds, but Meteora had stayed behind. The fabric of reality had come once again into balance, and now, apart from her somewhat peculiar personality and appearance, Meteora Österreich was functionally indistinguishable from other Creators.

Though her appetite had clearly not suffered in the years since.

"I'm sorry…" Sota furrowed his brow, trying not to let his agitation show. "I can't understand you when your mouth is full."

If Meteora intended to appear apologetic as she calmly wolfed down her sandwich, she was not putting a great deal of effort into the expression.

"Collaboration," she clarified. "A collaboration - a joint project between multiple creators."

"I know what the _word_ means…" Sota sighed, trying not to let his impatience show.

The young man massaged his brow as he looked around the diner. They were both seated at a table by the window, looking out at the city beyond. The diner was a small local chain, not terribly full at this late afternoon hour. The food was decent, and it wasn't far from his dorm where he was currently taking classes at an art institute in town. The two of them had gathered here once before, back when this had all started.

Back when Selesia had still been with them.

All that Meteora had put in her email to Sota, however, was that she had a proposition for him that was best discussed in person. On his way over, he found himself trying to guess at just why she had invited him to _this_ particular restaurant. The two of them had quite a few memories of this place from back then. Perhaps Meteora was feeling nostalgic? For someone with very little story to call her own, being able to look back on her past must have been a peculiar experience, he reflected. This place must have held some meaning for her, just as it had for him. Still, this did little to explain why she had called him here.

Meteora tilted her head slightly in a way that Sota surmised to mean that she was disappointed.

"So you are saying that you are not interested in working together?" she asked obtusely, reaching for the other half of the sandwich on her plate.

That caught Sota off guard slightly, and he raised his hands in objection.

"It's…not that I'm not interested…" he insisted, hesitantly.

Sota wasn't sure why he felt so intimidated by Meteora in this particular moment, especially after all these years. The two of them had kept in regular contact, even after she'd moved out on her own. They had even gotten together for coffee every few months or so, but those had always been for the sake of discussing their current projects. And when her career had begun to pick up steam, the two of them had gotten together less and less often as a result. It had been months since he'd even heard from her when he had received her email out of the blue, asking him to meet.

He remained silent for a moment more as she chewed her sandwich, seemingly indifferent to his response as she waited for him, determined to enjoy her late lunch to its fullest extent.

"Aren't you…" he finally said, hesitantly. "Aren't you busy though? I mean…"

As he spoke, he leaned down and opened the backpack he had brought with him, reaching inside for an anime news magazine he had brought him. Flipping it open, he turned to an article titled "Upcoming Releases." And right at the top of the list was a familiar title: _Re:CREATORS_.

"Your light novel's about to be made into an anime, isn't it?" he asked, setting the magazine on the table between them.

Meteora spared the magazine only the briefest of glances, in spite of his apparent concern. She had seen its contents already.

"Yes," she confirmed, after polishing off her sandwich. "But a more experienced screenwriter has been hired to adapt the project for televised streaming. I am merely on call for consultation; hardly full-time employment."

Sota opened his mouth to offer some kind of protest, but he fell silent as his eyes scanned through the article once again. While it was true Meteora's name was listed in the staff credits, there was also mention of another name the two of them recognized: one Matsubara Takashi, author of Vogelchevalier.

The animated adventures of Selesia Upitiria had come to an end that previous year. There had been a few minor differences between the anime and the light novels, but ultimately, it had been a satisfactory conclusion. The end of Selesia's story had been a momentous occasion for fans of the show, and Sota and Meteora had been no exception. It was one of the few occasions that Sota and Meteora had convened to watch something together. It had been an evening of reflection that they both looked back on with fond memories. But now it seemed that Matsubara had been tasked with the role of lead writer in the upcoming _Re:CREATORS_ anime adaptation, despite it being Meteora's work originally.

Sota had followed the industry long enough to know that sometimes the original writer of a light novel got to play a more involved role in the anime adaptation, and sometimes they didn't. Usually if the author didn't have a lot of experience or contacts within the industry, a more recognized name was tapped for the role. And the success of Vogelchevalier had evidently qualified Matsubara for the job. A lot of fans were looking forward to seeing Matsubara's next project, but it also meant that Meteora's role in the adaptation had been shoved to the sidelines.

Some fans even speculated that the reason for this relegation of the original author was due to her foreign origins. The identification papers that Kikuchihara's agency had provided for Meteora indicated that she hailed from somewhere in Germany, an effort to explain away her western appearance, as well as to let her keep the Germanic-sounding name of Österreich. Given all that, it was no wonder the studio in charge of the adaption had not asked her to participate as more than a consultant.

If anyone could be trusted to adapt their story into visual form, Sota supposed Matsubara was the right choice. And his name would certainly draw in a greater crowd. But still…

"That…doesn't seem right," Sota furrowed his brow in consternation. "It's _your_ story."

Meteora sipped her iced tea from a clear plastic cup through a straw.

"I have no qualms with this arrangement," she said dismissively. "It is only _partially_ my story, after all. I may have written the words, but the story itself is based on my experience with the other Creations. I have also changed most of the names in the story due to copyright laws."

She raised a finger as though lecturing at the head of a classroom.

"On that matter, the restrictions placed on anime are even more stringent," she continued, unperturbed. "There are also a number of other concerns and considerations involved in the adaptation process from book to screen, many of which with I am unacquainted. I lack the necessary experience to properly adapt this work into a visual medium. The project requires someone who is more familiar with the industry, and Matsubara is more than qualified to handle this. Moreover, his involvement in the Border World Coliseum will provide invaluable insight during the adaptation process."

Sota grimaced as he closed the magazine. It sounded like Meteora had already had this particular discussion with the studio beforehand. While he understood their need for an experienced screenwriter, it still didn't sit right with him that Meteora wouldn't get a proper chance to oversee the adaptation of her own creation.

Meteora dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin before continuing.

"That is not to say that I am disinterested in exploring the realm of animation in the future," she went on, her voice quiet yet undeterred. "To this end, I have my sights set on a new goal: I want to create something _new_ , something entirely my own. Something inspired by my experiences, but consisting of characters and events drawn solely from my own imagination."

Sot nodded slowly, trying to figure out where she was going with this diatribe.

"So…are you planning to write another light novel?" he asked.

Meteora shook her head slowly.

"I have found that people in this world respond more ardently to visual representations," she said. "Graphics, animation, images, et cetera. So in order to gain experience in a visual medium, I've decided that for my next endeavor, I shall refocus my attention on sequential art."

Sota raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised at her resolve.

"You mean manga?" he asked, bluntly.

Meteora nodded. "That is the colloquial term for it, yes. Now that I have completed my light novel, I believe creating a manga is the next logical step. It would be a valuable experience, one that would allow me to penetrate the industry of visual media with greater confidence and rapport."

Sota felt his shoulders droop.

"Do you have any drawing or artistic experience whatsoever?" he asked, dreading her answer.

"None," Meteora responded simply.

Sota's eyes closed as the full implication of Meteora's proposition finally became clear to him.

"So, in other words…" he said slowly in dawning realization. "...You need an illustrator."

"I need an illustrator," Meteora nodded in affirmation. "That is why I am calling this a collaboration. I am confident in my writing ability, but I need someone with artistic talent to handle the illustrations."

Her eyes fell on the remaining half of Sota's sandwich, which lay in front of him, uneaten. Letting out a resigned sigh, he pushed his plate towards her gently, and her eyes lit up as she descended upon it like a ravenous wolf.

"You should know...I've never made a manga before," he said warily, watching her eat.

"Uh knur," Meteora said in a muffled voice as she chewed. "Thursh wurl beh uh lurnung urpurtunuty-"

" _Swallow first_ , please," Sota urged, glancing around the diner uncomfortably.

She did so hurriedly, and Sota wondered how Meteora had made it three years in the real world without picking up on the basic decorum of table manners. Perhaps the life of a novelist allowed her to get by without much human interaction.

"Sorry," she said when her mouth was no longer full. "I am aware that you have not attempted creating a manga before. This will be a learning opportunity for the both of us."

Sota pursed his lips, glancing out the window as the people outside strolled by. It felt like a long time had passed since their adventure with the Creations had ended. It was hard not to think about Selesia and the others without getting emotional, and every time he had thought back to them, he felt like he had progressed so little since then. He was still on his way to becoming a graphic designer, but he still had so much more to learn. And Meteora had already published her own light novel in the time since then. It made the road ahead of him feel that much longer.

And being a manga artist was no easy job, especially if he was signing on to be the sole artistic talent. Even assuming Meteora could pick up the basics of inking and linework, it would still involve long, grueling hours of work for very little guaranteed payoff. Of course, he realized that if he wanted to get into any sort of animation career, it would be a lot of work regardless. But getting into a project at this stage of his life just felt like jumping into the deep end of the pool. He just didn't feel ready yet.

"I'm going to be so busy with classes these days," he said weakly. "I doubt I'll have any time to focus on anything else."

"You are studying at an art school, are you not?" she pointed out. "Do art students not normally have projects to work on? Our collaboration could easily fulfill a number of your required class projects. I am not committed to any one particular creation, and can afford to be flexible. Moreover, it stands to reason that the purpose of taking these classes in the first place is to develop skills that you may employ on your future career path. What better way to exercise those skills than through work experience and on-the-job training?"

Sota ran his fingers through his hair as he took off his glasses, staring at them as he twisted them idly in his hands. The same glasses he had worn since the day Shimazaki had died. The frames were getting crooked, and there were scratches, smudges and indentations that had accumulated since that time, but he hadn't had the heart to replace them.

"I don't know, Meteora," he said uneasily, not meeting her gaze. "I've only just started taking these classes, and I'm still such a novice when it comes to illustration. Wouldn't someone like Marine be more helpful?"

"Marine has never created a manga before either," Meteora pointed out. "I may reach out to her for assistance if we manage to create something that becomes more popular, but at this initial phase, I believe that you are the correct choice for this role."

Sota nearly collapsed onto the tabletop.

"You don't even have a working concept yet?" he asked in despair.

"I have a few ideas," she amended. "But that is why you are my first choice for a collaboration partner. You are one of the few Creators I am able to truly talk to. You are someone with whom I am able to share my ideas, someone who understands the importance of Creations. We have worked well together in the past during the Border World Coliseum. And I trust you, Sota."

The young man looked back at her, fixing his eyes one the peculiar girl. He was surprised by her forwardness, and he had no doubt in her resolve. His doubt, he knew, was directed entirely inward. After everything he had done, how he had hidden the truth about Shimazaki for so long, how could Meteora possibly consider him to be worthy of her trust? And if his past with Shimazaki was indication of anything at all, it was that Sota was clearly _not_ the best creator to collaborate with.

"Collaborations are supposed to be extremely challenging, even for the best creators," he said, lowering his eyes. "I've read all sorts of blogs, tweets, and articles about collaborators not getting along, getting into fights and breaking apart from one another. The stress of working long hours together becomes so great that they can no longer collaborate on the project any longer, and it leaves both the creation and the creators in a state of ruin."

Meteora kept her gaze fixed on Sota as he spoke. His fears were perfectly clear to her – if the two of them tried working together, the difficulties of the project would likely drive a wedge between them. The creation, as well as their friendship, would suffer as a result, possibly irreversibly so. She could not say with any certainty whether this would likely be the outcome of such an endeavor. She had little experience in the ways of human interaction, after all, and had never collaborated with anyone before. But if her time here in the world of Creators had taught her anything, it was that there were few limits that could not be exceeded through perseverance.

"It won't be that way with us," she assured him, a stouthearted look on her face. "If any conflicts come out of our collaboration, I have confidence that the two of us will be able to overcome them."

Sota scratched his head. Meteora's determination, as ever, seemed unshakeable. Her patience and understanding were extraordinary, he knew. And of all the Creations to come out of a fictional world, Meteora was the one who had most readily reached out to him when his need had been greatest. In spite of his reservations, he had to admit - if there was anyone in the world he was capable of working with, it would probably be her.

He was running out of excuses.

"You're already a published author, Meteora," he said, his eyes glued to the table between them. "You've already accomplished so much, I don't know if I could ever catch up to you. You're ten times the Creator I could ever be."

It was the same excuse he'd used to put a wall between himself and Shimazaki, he knew. And he knew that Meteora must have realized this as well. He tried not to imagine the guilt-inducing look she was giving him in that moment, the way her lips subtly drooped into a disappointed pout. He braced himself, preparing to hear words of resignation as she gave up on him, leaving him behind as she went on in pursuit of her goal in spite of him.

What she said next, however, made his chest tighten for an altogether different reason.

"That is not true, Sota," she said somberly. "I was only able to create a simple novel based on my own experiences. You were able to draw from your experiences to recreate a fully fleshed out version of Setsuna Shimazaki in person. If anything, it is _I_ who am in need of catching up."

Sota's eyes flew open, but he still couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. A lump began to form in his throat as his agitation grew. He wasn't sure why he was being so resistant. In truth, he had always dreamed about the possibility of working on a manga himself one of these days, but he just didn't feel ready, even with Meteora's help.

Meteora didn't wait for him to look at her.

"If you are truly opposed to the idea of a collaboration, then I will not force the issue," she said simply. "But I do believe that this is an opportunity for both of us. You are a great Creator, Sota. I believe in you."

Sota finally looked back at her just in time to see her raising a fist up in the air.

"Fight-o," she called out in a tiny voice with about as little emphasis as anything she ever said.

Sota stared at her for a moment longer, before suddenly letting out a burst of laughter at the meekly recreated gesture. As she gazed back at him, a perplexed look on her face at his reaction, he found himself laughing even harder.

He just couldn't help it! She just looked so silly trying to cheer him on like that! He wondered which pop idol group or anime character she had seen spouting off that line in such a manner. He could tell she was trying to sound enthusiastic, and the sentiment was there at least. It was a rather pitiful attempt at cheerleading, and yet somehow, it had stirred him.

She was being as encouraging as she was capable of being. And that was all that mattered.

"You're really difficult to argue with, Meteora," Sota sighed in a defeated tone.

"So I've been told," the girl smiled a self-satisfied smile. "Does that mean that you will collaborate with me after all?"

Sota exhaled through his nose, closing his eyes as he shook his head in disbelief at his own acquiescence.

"Why not?" he sighed in submission. "I've always wanted to try my hand at a manga."

Meteora's eyes widened with what could only be excitement.

"I am so glad to hear it!" she said in a hurried, breathy voice, before tossing her head forward in a bow, her white bangs covering her face. "I look forward to working with you!"

"Yeah..." Sota nodded. "Me too."

He shook his head, defeated. His resolve to procrastinate seemed to have withered under the duress of Meteora's insistent hounding. He supposed that there was no point in dilly-dallying anymore. He wanted to be a creator after all. He could doubt himself all he wanted, but he would never improve if he never tried to create something. Victory favored the bold, as the saying went. And at least this way, he would have a competent guide in the form of a girl with near-encyclopedic knowledge at his side. Meteora clearly had much to offer him, and if Sota was being completely honest, he had grown to miss her company these past few months. It would be nice to spend more time with her.

Fear and excitement began to mingle together in his stomach at the prospect of what he had just signed up for. This would be it - his first real foray into the world of creation. Anxiety and self-doubt began to creep across his skin as he was inadvertently thrown back to those early days with Shimazaki. How being so close to someone so talented had made him feel so trapped by his ineptitude. How disheartening and isolating it had felt. How crushing.

He managed to quell his apprehension before it had a chance to bubble to the surface. Shimazaki's death had not been his fault, he reminded himself. And despite his reservations, he _had_ grown at least somewhat since then. And Meteora was not Shimazaki. She had no reservations when it came to reaching out to extend a helping hand. As often as he chastised her occasional lack of decorum, it was this very flaw that allowed her to push past all the usual social hangups and get right to the core of the problem, whatever it may be.

Above all, Meteora was honest, and it was her honesty that had allowed her to get through the shell that Sota had erected around himself so that he could finally open up about his troubled past. For this reason above all others, Sota realized, he trusted her too.

Meteora was still smiling as she lifted her head. The gentleness of her smile was positively infectious, and Sota couldn't help but smile in return as a waitress came to clear their plates. When he nodded at their server in acknowledgement and asked for the check, Meteora's expression changed to one of alarm as she abruptly raised a finger.

"But...we have not yet had dessert," she pointed out, a mild note of urgency in her voice.

Sota let out a sigh as Meteora flipped opened her menu and gestured to an image of a parfait.

"Of course," he chuckled as the waitress took her order. "What was I thinking?"

It looked as though working together with Meteora was going to be an interesting experience indeed.

* * *

A/N: Going to have to do some research for this fic. And by "research," I mean "re-read most of Bakuman."

I made some best-guesses when it came to some of the ins and outs of the anime, manga and light novel business, but I'm going to have to get a lot more in depth if I plan on making any headway with this fic. In all honesty, I don't know the first thing about what these two characters are about to go through. Hopefully, that will be well reflected through the characters themselves, as they are in a similar boat as I am, but I will also need to portray the other side of things when they begin to discover what challenges await them, not to mention the tools, processes and technology behind illustration in general. If any readers have any experience with illustration, I would welcome your insights.

I loved the ending of Re:CREATORS, especially Meteora's decision to stay behind (I'm calling it a decision, because I don't think she really wanted to go back to her world anyway). The only way it could be improved, I thought, was if she and Sota ended up working on a project together. It would have been nice if the two of them could have both participated in the in-universe anime adaptation of _Re:CREATORS_ , but that just wasn't realistic on Sota's part, given his lack of experience in the industry. And even if they did, the two of them would have ended up working in two entirely separate departments within the studio that handled the project, with little interaction with one another, which would broaden the story much more than I was comfortable with.

I liked the idea of the two of them working on something smaller in scale, something they could both handle, that would require them working closely together, bouncing ideas off of one another, without a great deal of outside interference. A manga seemed like the perfect choice to explore just how compatible these two characters are.

And knowing me, there will be some romance in later chapters.

Stay tuned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Collaboration**

 **A Re:CREATORS Fan Fiction**

By Kraven Ergeist

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Most of the various studios at the Toudai Art Institute were a far cry from what a professional manga artist might have access to, not the least of which being that they were intended for student usage, and therefore communal in nature. Each studio could be reserved on a regular basis and were very often booked for various long-term projects, particularly around the end of each semester. Though the facilities were available for the entire student body however, the demand was high for the newer, more up-to-date facilities, and seniors got priority. As a first year student, the only studio that Mizushino Sota could manage to reserve had outdated hardware and software in the four-station computer lab, second-rate markers and ink pens in dire need of replacing, about half of which were simply missing or damaged beyond usage.

Still, it was private, and any tools that the studio could not provide, Sota could bring on his own. He didn't have much, but he had been able to invest in a respectable set of felt tip pens, graphite and colored pencils, and a wide array of Sharpie and Copic markers. His tablet also contained more recent and versatile illustration software than anything in the studio's software suite, though its storage and processing power were quite limited. The studio also included a sizeable Wacom tablet that took up half a table in surface, the likes of which Sota simply couldn't afford, much less fit into his tiny dorm room. As cramped as the crummy third-rate studio was, it still provided a much-needed space for Sota and Meteora to brainstorm their first big project together.

Four high wooden drafting tables arranged corner to corner in a large rectangle dominated the center of the room, each one positioned with a rotating stool, most of which looked ready to fall apart at any moment. Pencils and pens and other writing instruments, as well as some basic crafting tools such as straight-edge rulers and X-ACTO knives, were haphazardly organized into an arrangement of cannisters and bins on and around the four tables. Piled into a series of tubs next to a utility sink in the left-hand corner near the door were all manner of paint brushes, scalpels and oil-based tubes of paint, most of them squeezed nearly to empty, as well as sculpting and shaping tools for molding clay.

Lining an entire wall opposite the doorway were two PC computers, with two Mac desktops lining the adjacent wall on the right. Each desktop was equipped with its own digital tablet interface and a suite of illustrator applications ranging from open source to high-end (if outdated) Adobe programs. An ultra-wide digital flatbed scanner and printer took up the corner on the far right at the center of the computer stations. The opposite wall, adjacent to the utility sink, contained steel wireframe racks for paper and canvases of all sizes, as well as a number of painter's pallets hanging off the side of the rack. And sitting in a cardboard box beneath the wire rack were large plastic bags of sculpting clay.

It was an all-purpose studio, possessing nothing exhaustive in any one artistic field, but sufficient tools to get almost any craft off the ground. The room had been well-lit at one point, though most of the fluorescent tubes overhead were flickering and only half-lit. The short, wide windows lining the top of the wall above the PC editing stations normally let in a good deal of light during the daytime hours. However, Sota had only managed to make the reservation for after hours, so the sun had already set by the time he and Meteora wandered in.

"Are you certain?" Meteora asked, a note of trepidation in her voice as she stepped into the modest art studio.

"Afraid so," Sota affirmed, following her in and closing the wooden door behind them, rubbing his eyes in fatigue. "You just described the plot of the Fate series by Type Moon."

Sota looked exhausted. Classes had started early that morning, and he was looking at another full day the following morning. He would normally have been in bed by this hour, but this had been the only time he could reserve the studio. His new collaboration partner had been anxious to get started, and it didn't help that she never seemed to need much sleep herself.

Meteora began to take in their surroundings, stepping over to one of the drawing tables to inspect the fraying marker set.

"Very well, how about this," she said, her eyes focused on the writing utensils, and evidently perfectly content with conversing while preoccupied with something else. "A rift in space-time causes a team of adventurers to be thrown back in time, where they must battle through a series of interconnected events in order to avoid a world-ending cataclysm that will transpire at a predetermined point in the future."

Sota gently lowered the backpack off his shoulders as he slid groggily into one of the squeaky stools.

" _That's_ pretty much the plot to Chrono Trigger," he said, resting his head in his hands.

Meteora's eyebrows knit in tension as she replaced the markers to their holster, her eyes focused in thought.

"Then let us suppose we took out the world-ending cataclysm and only focused on the science fiction element?" she asked, slowly beginning to pace around the arrangement of tables.

"Now you've basically got Steins;Gate," Sota shook his head.

"Alright," Meteora pursed her lips, resting her hands on the drawing table opposite Sota. "Never mind the time travel then. Suppose it was simply a story about the perils of human ingenuity, wherein the characters try to create life, only for it result in dire consequences."

Sota let out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Remind me to introduce you to Full Metal Alchemist one of these days…"

Meteora was looking more and more vexed by the moment.

"Is there no new ground to cover in terms of stories in this world?" she asked, despairingly. "What about a science fiction narrative focusing on piracy in the far reaches of space?"

Sota began to keep a tally on his fingers.

"Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Captain Harlock have got you covered there," he said.

Meteora pursed her lips.

"I suppose our friend Kanoya is not the only Creation to come from a world of immense mechanized robots then?"

Sota had to resist rolling his eyes.

"The Gundam, Macross and Yuusha franchises have had that market cornered for years," he shrugged. "Not that other franchises haven't tried."

"So be it then," Meteora said in a voice that was losing patience. "Let's move away from the realm of science fiction. What of the fantasy genre?"

Sota looked defeated.

"Take your pick," he said. "There's at least one new Isekai series every season these days."

That seemed to baffle Meteora.

"Both western and eastern in theme?" she asked.

"You've got Berserk and Attack on Titan on one end of the spectrum, and Inu Yasha and Kenshin on the other," Sota responded.

Meteora's lips drooped into a dissatisfied pout.

"Then I suppose magic would be a recurring theme as well," she sighed.

"A Certain Magical Index, Magic Users Club, and Magic Knights Rayearth, to name a few," Sota reached into his bag and retrieved a sketchbook.

Meteora looked crestfallen.

"Any that feature knights and dragons?"

"Gate and Shingeki no Bahamut spring to mind," Sota retrieved a pencil, flipped open his book and began doodling. "Fairy Tale and Slayers technically count too. And of course, there's Lodoss War."

"Prince and Princess character archetypes?"

"See above," Sota said, focusing on his sketchpad. "Also, add Scrapped Princess and Romeo x Juliet for good measure."

Meteora nodded sagely.

"Adapting the creation of a famous playwright into an animated production," she mused to herself. "A clever tactic. You recast the story in your own light, while holding onto the elements that made it timeless."

"If you think that's clever, you should check out Gankutsuou," Sota said idly, sketching meticulously, as though the activity were the only thing keeping him awake.

"Still," Meteora said, not reacting to his off-hand dismissal. "Adapting another creator's work defeats the purpose of this exercise. My aim is to create something novel."

Sota wrinkled his nose. For someone with supposedly encyclopedic knowledge, Meteora's grasp of the sheer volume of anime and manga in the world seemed surprisingly lacking. And her stubborn insistence on novelty was getting them nowhere. It was late, he had spent the whole day taking classes, and he should have been spending this time studying or sleeping, but instead he was here in a run-down studio, discussing the history of anime with his new collaboration partner.

"That's going to be a challenge then," Sota said bluntly as he continued to work on his sketchpad. "There's just too much out there to ever create something entirely new. The most we will be able to do is derive something from a theme."

Meteora shook her head in disagreement.

"I have already created something which is inspired by something else," she asked. "If I cannot create something entirely unique, then there will always be something out there which outclasses what I create."

"That's just part of the challenge," Sota shrugged, trying to keep his tone civil. "Part of the joy in creation is taking the familiar themes and tropes and finding out what new directions we can take them in."

This seemed to trouble Meteora, and she turned to face the narrow windows, gazing out at the faint starlight visible through the trees outside their building.

"That is all well and good, but surely there must be _some_ avenue yet untapped," she said, withering hope in her voice.

"Adapting or drawing inspiration from others isn't a _bad_ thing," Sota argued. "As long as what we create says something _meaningful_ , it doesn't matter how derivative it is in the end."

He flipped over his sketchpad, and Meteora turned to see what he'd been drawing. A collection of floating heads seemed to hover within the off-white pages of his sketchbook, and she recognized the faces of the Creations, their friends - Selesia and the others. It was an image not unlike the illustration he had provided for her light novel, but all he had drawn this time around were the faces. She was surprised to see how much he had managed to capture in such a short amount of time, although what she saw were mere outlines and frameworks rather than full sketches.

Then he flipped through the pages, and suddenly, Meteora was looking at a different cast of characters that Sota had drawn some time ago. These characters were standing amongst a series of monstrous giant robots, and clad in futuristic looking pilot suits.

"Vogelchevalier was largely inspired by shows like Evangelion and Escaflowne, where science and mysticism allow giant robots to fight in fantastical battles…" he explained.

Then he flipped through some more pages, until he landed on another sketch of characters wearing modern looking clothing.

"Exclusive Underground Dark Night has a lot in common with the Persona series…" he went on.

Meteora's eyes narrowed as she recognized the trappings of Yuuya Mirokuji's world. She understood the point that Sota was making, but seeing him make light of the worlds that their friends had come from felt somehow insensitive.

Then he turned to a page displaying what appeared to be his hand-drawn interpretation of pixelated video game sprites. She wasn't entirely sure that she recognized the characters specifically, but she could clearly see who they resembled. She had played her own game often enough to know its characters by heart.

"And even AVALKEN of Reminisce draws heavily from RPGs like the Final Fantasy franchise," Sota said pointedly.

All at once, Meteora felt a stirring of feeling inside her that she was not accustomed to. Having the derivative nature of her own world laid bare like this was entirely unsettling. Sota wasn't telling her anything she hadn't explicitly _known_ , of course, but having it thrust in her face like this was a very unpleasant experience all the same.

For the past three years of living in the world of Creators, she had grown accustomed to the feeling that the world was vast and infinite, and the possibility for creation was equally vast and infinite. But now, it was beginning to feel as though that vast, infinite world was slowly closing in on her, and she wasn't entirely certain how to deal with that feeling.

Her eyes disappeared behind her hair.

"You have made your point, Sota," she observed off-handedly, a hint of derision in her voice. "I can see you are adept at finding reasons for us not to proceed as planned. But perhaps that energy could be turned towards a more productive outlet?"

Sota's shoulders drooped as he closed his sketchpad. He realized he was being unfair to Meteora by taking apart every proposition she put forward. He knew he could have been more delicate about it, but he was tired and not in the most receptive state of mind. And this whole evening was beginning to feel like a waste of time.

"I'm not trying to stop us from moving forward," he said, trying to be reassuring. "I just think it might be a good idea to temper our expectations a little."

Meteora didn't know what to think. She had never felt this way before. Did Sota really believe that they could accomplish so _little_ together? She had thought that he shared her vision of Creation, but it seemed as though his mind was on a completely separate track from hers. Her heart was pounding, and for a moment she thought she might even cry. But she reigned in her feelings, just as she had done many times before. It would not do for her to break down this early in the collaboration process. Sota had warned her that collaboration was not easy, and that collaborators could easily drive the other away just through their differing views. Perhaps this is what he had been worried about.

Fortunately, Meteora had not entered this world as an ordinary human being. Normal human girls had their breaking points, but she, by her very nature, could push past that point. She could hide her tears forever if she needed to. That was the nature of her character. She was a trope, a stereotype – a _kuudere_ , if she understood the term correctly. That was how she had been written. And she could wear this aspect of hers like a shield, and let the emotions wash over her like waves on the shore as she endured the test of time.

She had withstood the many horrid machinations of Altair without letting her feelings show. She had lost friends and allies in the Border World Coliseum, all without so much as a single twinge of fear on her face. And even those survivors she had been forced to say goodbye to, and she had done so without shedding so much as a tear. Should it come down to it, Meteora could hide her emotions for the rest of her life.

She had simply hoped that, with Sota at least, she would not _have_ to.

When she finally lifted her head, she fixed the boy with a pleading expression.

"I invited you to collaborate with me because I believed that we could create something meaningful together," she said in a quiet voice. "Will you not extend the same level of faith towards me?"

Sota felt his mouth growing dry. He could tell that he'd truly upset her.

"I…I will…" he said shakily, before swallowing. "I mean, I _do_ …"

Meteora shook her head, unconvinced.

"This collaboration holds great value for me," she said, her eyes lowering as her voice faltered. "I need to know that you are committed to this venture, or there is no _point_ to any of it."

Sota fixed the girl with an apologetic gaze. He had never seen Meteora so shaken before. He was used to her being completely taciturn, unshakeable, unflappable, unmovable. But it seemed that his assumptions, as usual, had been completely off. The Meteora that he saw before him was vulnerable and exposed. It seemed that the veil of stoicism she projected over herself was merely a mask; a façade to keep a delicate heart protected within.

He thought that he had known her before, but he had barely even scratched the surface. In reaching out to Sota to become a collaborator, he realized, Meteora had opened herself in a way that she never had before. This project was her way of letting him in. For the first time, he realized, he was seeing past the protective outer layer that she kept around herself, and catching a glimpse of the person she kept hidden underneath.

Meteora truly wanted to be a creator. And she truly wanted him to be a part of that creation process.

Sota clenched his jaw, mentally kicking himself for being so inconsiderate.

"I'm sorry, Meteora…" he said, struggling not to bite his tongue. "I know how important this project is to you. It's important to _me_ too. That's why I want to get it _right_."

Meteora lifted her gaze up from where she was staring down at the drawing table, and she saw him pushing his closed sketchbook towards her, inviting her to open it. In all their history, she had only ever seen what illustrations he had posted to his online Pixiv account. He had _never_ given her free reign to peruse his sketchbook openly, and he had always shied away every time she had ever asked to see any sketches he had not specifically shown her.

For him to give her carte blanche like this…

Meteora fixed Sota with a curious look as she slowly opened his sketchbook to page one. On it were a few simple sketches of Selesia Upitiria, one full body, and a few floating heads of her making various expressions. On another page were a few attempts at recreating Aliceteria, and another of Altair. As she flipped through the pages, she saw sketch after sketch of various Creations that she recognized from their adventures together.

She also saw quite a few drawings of herself as well. Some of them were…quite flattering.

"These are all so well drawn," Meteora said without thinking.

Sota just shook his head.

"In Japan, we have a saying," he said, not meeting her gaze, his cheeks coloring in silent shame as the other girl continued to flit through the pages. " _I will master something, then the creativity will come._ I always thought that's how it worked. But I'm so far away from mastering _anything_ yet. And I'm not sure I ever will."

Meteora nodded slowly, skimming through page after page, realization slowly dawning on her. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of most every Creation that had been made in the past few years, and although Sota's knowledge clearly extended much further back than she had yet had time to research, she could still identify every character she came across in his sketchbook. He had clearly drawn inspiration from other Creations that he'd seen.

And not, she realized, from anywhere else.

"What you're seeing there is a lifetime of imitation," Sota held his face in his hands. "I'm still not good enough to create something of my own. All I can do is copy _other_ people's work. I'm nowhere _near_ being able to create something unique on my own. I…I haven't even _tried_ yet. All I'm able to do is _recreate_ what I've already seen."

Meteora watched in surprise as Sota began shaking.

"So trust me when I say how hard it is to create something truly unique," he shuddered through clenched teeth. "Because believe me...I've _tried_."

Meteora's eyes widened when she realized how conflicted Sota was about this. His sharp dismissal of her attempts at novelty were not borne of unkindness, but of self-protection. Imitation was all he knew. And the more she saw in his sketchbook, the more she realized how difficult novelty came to him.

How much it terrified him.

He flinched when her hand slipped into his, and when he looked back at her, her eyes were filled with kindness.

"I told you before that I believed in you, Sota," she said in a soft voice. "And _this_ …"

She used her free hand to close his sketchbook and slide it back over to him.

"…Has _not_ changed my stance."

Sota blinked, staring down at his hand as she held it. She wasn't letting go, and he didn't pull away. Even between his lithe artist's fingers, her hand felt small and fragile. Yet she had extended it all the same. Just as she always had.

He looked up to meet her gaze once more.

"Do you really think we can create something unique together?" he asked, a hopeless look in his eyes.

Meteora's tilted her head the way she did every time she did she was deep in thought. She had thought working together with another creator would have been a simple matter of combining their skills and intellect – like working with a single, more powerful brain to accomplish a task twice as fast. But creators weren't that simple. _People_ weren't that simple. And in order to work with someone, it seemed, some compromises must be made.

"Perhaps," she nodded slowly, her lips slowly curving into a smile. "Perhaps not. As you said, the important thing is that we create something that is meaningful. If we strive towards this goal, then we may yet find novelty as well. But for now, let us simply focus on creating the best project that we can make."

Sota stared unblinking at her for a moment, and for a second, she was concerned that she had said something wrong. Then his cheeks began to redden, and Meteora realized she was still holding his hand.

She withdrew her hand, and her own face began to color.

"Sorry," she said.

Sota's face got even redder.

"Oh, no, uh…no problem…" he said, lowering his eyes shyly.

Meteora kept her eyes fixed on him, somewhat befuddled by his reaction. The breach of decorum had been hers, and she wasn't entirely sure why Sota wouldn't meet her gaze. Another moment passed where he did not speak, and Meteora cleared her throat.

"Well?" she spoke up.

Sota's eyes finally came up to meet hers and he sat up at attention with a start.

"Uh…" he stammered hesitantly. "W-Well, what?"

Meteora fixed him with a determined gaze.

"You have not yet responded to my suggestion," she said sternly. "I propose that we simply focus on creating the best project that we can without overly concerning ourselves with novelty. Does that sound like a reasonable idea?"

Sota blinked, before finally nodding his head. He wasn't sure why his mouth had gone dry, but something about Meteora's smile had simply taken his breath away.

"Yeah…" he said, still blushing. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

Meteora nodded. She still wasn't sure why Sota was acting so shy around her, but it seemed they had at least reached an understanding as collaboration partners.

"Very well then…" she said, pulling herself up onto one of the high stools, sitting across from Sota as she pulled open his sketchbook once again, flipping to a blank page. "Then let us begin."


	3. Chapter 3

**Collaboration**

 **A Re:CREATORS Fan Fiction**

By Kraven Ergeist

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

A few days after Sota and Meteora had resolved what path to take on their collaboration project, the young woman watched diligently as Sota scribbled in his sketchbook. They were once again in the Toudai art institute studio, though today they had managed to secure the room during daytime hours, so the room was now bathed in the natural light that filtered through the high windows. Sota was between classes at the moment, and his bento boxed lunch was sitting half eaten on the drafting next to Meteora's empty bento box where they both sat.

Meteora had given her word that she would not finish his lunch for him this time, a promise she was finding more and more difficult to keep as she watched him work.

Laid across the tables were several printouts of various characters from other works, the digital printer in the corner of the room methodically spitting out more and more such printouts from a queue. Having long since abandoned the idea that novelty would be entirely feasible, Meteora had now embraced the concept of drawing inspiration from other successful works. To that end, the drafting table was now covered with kuudere archetypes, ranging from the likes of Nagato Yuki, Rei Ayanami, Ruri Hoshino, Charlotte d'Orleans and Kanade Tachibana. Featured prominently amongst the character designs that were spread out between them were a number of high-resolution images of Meteora's own original design from AVALKEN of Reminisce, dispensing with any illusion Meteora had that she was not also drawing from her _own_ experiences as the Sage of the End of the World.

As the saying went, one should write what one knew – another truism that Meteora had since embraced.

And so, drawing from various characters from similar genres of fantasy and science fiction, Mizushino Sota finally completed his illustration of Meteora's first original character.

"Done," he said, flipping the sketchbook around for Meteora to see. "What do you think?"

Meteora studied the character design laid before her. The character had gone through several iterations, as evidenced by the multitude of other versions on the previous page. Meteora had weighed in on her preference for each design, offering critiques and making slight adjustments, though she had taken care to listen to Sota's opinions and advice as the character had progressed.

The character was female (naturally), with short dark hair (Meteora hadn't yet decided on black or blue for the color). She wore a set of robes loosely inspired by Meteora's own garb, but also drawing some inspiration from Fire Emblem and the Legend of Zelda series. One of her hands protruded out from her robes to clasp a tall wooden staff that spiraled into a double helix that widened as it ran upward, before the two helices joined together in a wide circle, a single orb suspended within the empty space within.

"This will do nicely, I think," Meteora said in approval.

The smile on Sota's face was so joyful, Meteora almost forgot where she was.

"That's good," he said, staring down at his work in satisfaction.

An overwhelming sense of pride seemed to resonate from her collaboration partner as he gazed down at what the two of them had created, and Meteora could not help but be swept up by it. Their first original character. Their first step on their journey of collaboration. Soon, this character would have a story, a personality and mission that was entirely their own. How would their story evolve as they progressed? How would this character grow and change over the course of their journey? Would they make friends along the way? Fight in epic battles? Find love? Learn their purpose in life? The possibilities stretched out before them seemed truly endless, and all this from just this one character that she and Sota had designed.

This was their Creation.

Retrieving a pencil from the canister between the tables, Meteora scribbled a set of latin characters beneath their new character, giving her a name, as though anointing a sea vessel before its maiden voyage.

"Camus?" Sota asked, staring blithely at the western alphabet, pronouncing the word phonetically.

"Ca _-mus_ ," Meteora corrected helpfully. "The S is silent."

Sota flipped the sketchbook back towards himself and wrote some katakana characters beneath the latin script.

"Wouldn't this be a little easier for a Japanese audience?"

The characters for KA and MU were written beneath their Creation.

"I suppose," Meteora allowed. "I wrote her name in a western alphabet because she is based on the French existentialist. Her and her counterpart."

Sota raised an eyebrow at that.

"Counterpart?"

"Albert," Meteora elaborated, raising a finger to indicate that she was making a point. "The T is also silent."

Sota scratched his nose as Meteora stepped over to the printer as it continued to spit out artwork to retrieve another handful of character designs, presumably to provide a source of inspiration for this Albert character, appearing somewhat lost as he watched her. French existentialist literature was evidently not a commonly taught subject in Japanese high schools.

"Camus is a girl raised by a witch for the purpose of being her magical conduit," Meteora explained as she laid out the prints across the drafting table. "When the witch dies unexpectedly, however, Camus is left with no purpose, and so must seek to discover it on her own."

Sota nodded slowly, gazing down at the new bundle of character designs. The prints all seemed to be of male characters, most of which appeared to be the male protagonist to a number of anime and manga. Everything from unlikely shonen action heroes to unassuming mecha pilots to harem anime protagonists, all bearing names like Takumi, Kazuma and Keitaro.

"Okay, I'm with you so far," he said, studying the images.

If there was one overlying theme to the characters, it seemed, it was that they were all somewhat lacking in terms of physicality, their scholarly designs suggesting an intellectual background. Some even wore glasses not unlike his own.

"Camus is eventually joined by a young but worldly scholar named Albert, who begins to teach her what it means to be human," Meteora explained. "He is a pacifist by nature, and believes that all conflicts can ultimately be resolved peacefully. Together, they begin to explore Camus' unusual origins, as well as uncover a secret power hidden within her."

Sota blinked as he watched Meteora scatter _another_ slew of prints across the table, this time of various female characters with long, fiery hair and fierce expressions on their faces. He recognized Erza Scarlet, Kyoko Sakura, Rin Tosaka, Asuka Langley, and Lina Inverse amongst many others. Their designs all ranged from fantastic to futuristic, and all of them gave off the immediate impression of being hard hitting, no-nonsense and combat ready.

"I was also deliberating the possibility of adding a third character to add another layer of influence on Camus' development," Meteora went on, feeling quite proud of herself. "This character would be a female knight, noble by birth and devout in her belief that justice is something that must be fought for. She provides an opposing view of the world from Albert, and Camus must rectify this dichotomy by the end of the series. I was thinking of Roslyn for a name, based on the Rose Line meridian that cuts through western Europe."

Sota rifled through the now abundant layers of prints on the drafting table, recognizing many prominent female characters, most of them redheads, and even finding an early design of Selesia Upitiria amongst them.

"I'm sensing a bit of a pattern here…" Sota said absently.

"You did say that it was not a bad thing to drawing inspiration from other material," Meteora pointed out.

Sota sat back on his stool.

"A quiet, stoic girl with cool, pale hair, a strong, fierce tempered girl with long fiery hair, and a meek, unassuming boy with few standout traits?" he sighed, crossing his arms. "Where have I seen this before?"

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lyrical Nanoha, Fullmetal Panic, Akame ga Kill, Neon Genesis Evangelion…" Meteora responded simply. "It is a very popular character setup. The three character types also happen to conform to the Freudian Trio of Id, Ego and Superego, and thus are the basis for a rather popular character dynamic."

Sota nodded, somewhat impressed that Meteora seemed to have expanded her knowledge of anime and manga over the past few days.

"I actually kind of meant that it sounds like you're describing me, Selesia, and yourself," Sota said pointedly.

"Perhaps," Meteora allowed. "But I am giving the characters more dynamic traits in order to make them more archetypal. Moreover, unlike ninety percent of the Freudian Trios that appear in anime and manga, the focus of the story will be on the stoic female of the group."

Sota massaged his forehead.

"Write what you know, indeed…"

"Kuuderes are a popular trope, if I do say so myself," Meteora said somewhat haughtily.

"I guess so," Sota shrugged.

He turned his eyes to the sketchbook, studying Camus' design once again, seemingly putting together a more complete picture of their character and world she inhabited in his mind.

"So this will take place in a fantasy setting then?" he asked.

"Yes, but that is merely the backdrop," Meteora replied. "The purpose is to study the characters and their opposing ideals, and the protagonist's goal of establishing her identity amidst the chaos of the world around her."

Sota nodded, slowly beginning to understand what Meteora had in mind.

"So, less 'anime power trio,' and more 'Ghost in the Shell set in a medieval fantasy setting and steeped in western post-enlightenment philosophy?'"

Meteora smiled. Sota appeared to have covered at least a _few_ of the classics in school.

"You could think of it that way," she nodded, before retrieving yet another stack of prints from the printer. "To that end, we must decide on a villain."

Sota's cheeks began to color as series of busty and scantily clad female characters suddenly littered the drafting table. Some of them he even recognized - Boa Hancock, Esdeath, Lust and Naga among them.

"Seriously?" he asked, embarrassed.

Meteora pushed forward, undeterred.

"I am thinking either a dragon who can take on the form of a human woman, or a human woman who can take on the form of a dragon," she said, placing a finger on her lips as she considered. "Or a human woman who simply rides a dragon. I have not yet decided. And her name should either be Rien or Nier, one or the other."

Sota was resisting the urge to hide his face at the display of sultry female characters on the table before him.

"Does her design have to be so…erm…revealing?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course," Meteora insisted. "She is, I believe the term is, a 'fan service character?'"

Sota pursed his lips in discomfort. "Do we really want an entire character devoted to fan service? I feel like she might feel out of place in a fantasy setting. Generally, the cast feels more human if you give each of them their own moments of fan service mixed in with other characterizing elements."

Meteora nodded.

"You make a valid point," she conceded. "But the purpose of this antagonist is to represent the unimportance and impermanence of man. She displays this by purporting the vapid disposability of short-term pleasures over long term gain, and she expresses this through an overly sexualized character design."

Sota looked somewhat confounded by her assertion, and Meteora couldn't help but notice that he was appearing more and more uneasy with the idea of their villain being portrayed in such a manner. Yet again, it seemed she had somehow made her collaboration partner uncomfortable, and she couldn't quite figure out why he was so embarrassed by such things.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked pointedly at him. "I can plainly see that you have no real issue with drawing fan-service characters."

Sota's face reddened even deeper at the assertion.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" he demanded.

Without speaking, Meteora deftly flipped his sketchbook back a few pages, before landing on one of her own character designs. It was an alternate take on her own character design from a fan-created spin-off of AVALKEN, one that portrayed Meteora in a highly revealing outfit, with a substantially busty figure and an expression on her face that could only be described as 'come hither.'

"What I mean is that you do not seem to have any reservations with regard to _me_ being portrayed in such a manner," she observed candidly.

Sota's face turned beet-red, as a mortified expression came over his face. He abruptly snatched back his sketchbook, slamming it closed and draped his arms over it, hiding his face in shame.

"I…I…" he stammered tremulously. "I'm sorry! I didn't…mean for you to see that…"

As Sota quaked in embarrassment, Meteora's confusion only grew. She was certainly aware of the social taboo the world of the Creators placed on human reproductive rituals, but surely such taboos were less of an issue where friends were concerned, and _certainly_ such niceties could be dispensed with between Sota and herself. Had she crossed yet another unspoken social boundary, such as talking with one's mouth full? Such a nuisance they were, these social contracts, and yet the fault always seemed to lie with her.

Though in this particular case, it was her collaboration partner who seemed to bear the brunt of the burden. Perhaps that was the issue.

"You have caused me no offense, Sota," Meteora assured the young man, attempting to take the high road, as it were. "I am aware that young men in particular are drawn to such things. There is no shame in that."

Her words did not seem to comfort him. He still was not meeting her gaze. Perhaps he simply needed further reassurance? His behavior was disconcerting, and the last thing Meteora wanted was to cause her collaboration partner any further distress.

"I am not angry with you, Sota," she said in a gentle tone. "It's a perfectly natural thing to seek out the things that appeal to you."

He still said nothing, and Meteora lowered her eyes.

"I know that I am not much to look upon as I am now," she admitted softly. "So it only makes sense that, as a Creation, I be depicted in a more appealing manner."

That's when Sota's eyes suddenly flew open. Just as quickly as he had pulled in on himself, he was reaching across the table to clasp his hands around hers, causing her to flinch at the brazen contact.

"That's not true, Meteora!" he exclaimed, giving her the sincerest expression she had ever seen him give. "That's not true at all! You're perfect just the way you are now!"

Meteora felt her eyes widening at the declaration. From his words, she could tell that he was worried that he had upset her. While it did not bother her to know that there were Creators out there who preferred to imagine her in a more sexually appealing manner, the thought of Sota being one of them had stirred…something within her. It was not a _terrible_ feeling, but it was a distraction nevertheless. She had not had adequate time to properly examine the matter, however, as the feeling paled in comparison to what she felt now.

No one had ever called her perfect before.

"Oh…" she said, staring down at the drafting table in thought.

The table was still littered with printouts of various characters meant to inspire Sota's artistic depiction of their Creations. Each character, distilled into their key components, represented Forms of an archetype. Meteora had long since resigned herself to the knowledge that her own archetype was that of the kuudere, the quiet girl in the corner who spoke softly and rarely if ever let her emotions show. The kuudere was not intended to be an object of true desire, at least not in the same way as the other fan service characters that covered the table. Her archetype was meant to be an emotional foil, a support crutch designed to boost the main character's ego and make them feel better about themselves.

Meteora had been fine with such a role. She was perfectly comfortable letting the alternate and highly sexualized version of her character design be the object of desire for the male gaze. Less trouble for her that way, she reasoned. But for Sota to regard her true form – not her fan service laden counterpart, but her _true_ form - with anything resembling desire…

It was enough to make her forget their collaboration project entirely.

Sota slowly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry..." he muttered.

Meteora blinked several times before she drew in her breath and recollected her thoughts.

"Regardless" she said, clearing her throat in attempt to get back on track. "We still have our work cut out for us. I am pleased with the character design for Camus, but we still need to develop something for Albert, Roslyn and Rien Nier. Do you think you can come up with something based on these design choices by tomorrow?"

Sota blinked in surprise, seemingly unsure of what just happened.

"Uh…okay," he muttered, dumbstruck.

Meteora hurriedly got to her feet.

"You have classes shortly, if I'm not mistaken," she said, without making eye contact. "Please let me know when you can next book this studio workspace."

Sota stared back at her, perplexed as he watched her make a beeline towards the door before disappearing through it without sparing him so much as a backwards glance.

"Until next time," she said simply.

Sota remained still as she fled through the door, watching her disappear from sight. He glanced back at the drafting table, completely covered with character designs, and tried to figure out what exactly he had done wrong. He knew it was a blunder to let Meteora see his sketch of her AU design, but he could not have predicted her reacting the way she had.

As he gathered the printouts into a manila folder and slid the folder into his backpack, he began to wonder, not for the first time, whether he was truly up for this collaboration after all.

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the short chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Collaboration**

 **A Re:CREATORS Fan Fiction**

By Kraven Ergeist

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Meteora was not waiting for Sota at the studio the next day, as she typically was. Although his schedule as a student at the Toudai Art Institute was a busy one, he got the impression that Meteora did not have a lot on her calendar these days, and so was normally able to arrive for their appointments well in advance. It usually made him feel quite rude, making her wait all the time. But after ten minutes of their scheduled hour had passed, Sota began to worry he might have gotten the time wrong.

After checking and double checking his schedule and leaving half a dozen messages on her phone, he decided that the best thing to do was to just wait for Meteora to arrive. Not wanting to let the time go to waste, he continued doodling in his sketchbook, reviewing what he had accomplished the night before, having drafted up several iterations of the supporting cast of characters in their collaboration project.

As Meteora had pointed out, the main cast did in fact align to a Freudian trio, and it was a challenge to breathe originality into such tried and true concepts without straying too far from the mark. He had started with Roslyn, who Meteora had described as a valiant and headstrong knight, noble and devoted to fighting for justice. He had taken her words to imply that Roslyn was some kind of holy crusader, and had given her a suit of white armor inspired by the knights templar, complete with ornate crosses engraved across her breastplate, as well as everywhere else there was a surface to inscribe such things. The sterling white armor accentuated Roslyn's long red hair, tied back in some sketches, flowing freely in others.

He drew inspiration from Ezra Scarlet from Fairy Tail and Titania from the Fire Emblem series. In an effort not to base her too heavily on their friend Selesia, he had designed her a bit on the younger side to imply that she, like her fellow heroes, still had much to learn about the world. Despite this, one of his designs had featured Roslyn with a scar running across her nose, much like Tokiko from Buso Renkin or Iruka from Naruto, signifying that the lesson had been cemented into her early on in life that nothing was ever easy, and that the most worthwhile goals of all needed to be fought for. He also found himself giving the character a perpetually disdainful scowl in most of his designs. Meteora had not specified whether or not Roslyn would be a _tsundere_ character, but the implication was there.

Sota had tackled the design of the main villainess next, still somewhat unsure of how to make an analog for his own stand-in without making him a self-insert character. Moreover, he was convinced that he could depict a character like Rien Nier as more than just a fan service character. Meteora had described her as representing the vapid, short-sightedness of humanity, and expressed this through her sexuality. But this could also be expressed more generally, by making her a more decadent character overall. Having looked up the meaning of her name, Sota had discovered that "rien nier" roughly translated from French into "nothing to deny," which to him indicated that Rien was a character who deprived herself of nothing.

Based on this, Sota determined that Rien was a character who lavished without a care in the world, lived in the moment, acted without any regard for the law of the land, and was powerful enough to get away with it. He gave her flowing, luxurious black hair, her design and facial expression drawn from the confident poise of Soul Eater's Medusa and Loki from Fire Emblem, and blending it with laid back and impatient attitude of Kukaku from Bleach. He put her in a kimono that cinched tightly around her waist and billowed plentifully about the chest area. Fortunately, there was plenty more reference material in popular anime for this type of character wearing Japanese style outfits than western outfits, ranging from Guilty Gear's Baiken to Naruto's Tsunade. He even gave her a long Japanese-style pipe to complete her lounging bathhouse look.

He'd decided to worry about drawing her dragon at a later time, he thought with an intimidated sigh.

Satisfied with the first two characters, Sota had finally turned his sights on Albert, who by far, he had the least amount to go on. Meteora had described him as a worldly pacifistic scholar, so the simplest idea was to put him in Christian monk's robes and a satchel of books and scrolls over his shoulder. It also made sense for him to be lithe and short of stature, being confined in much the same way Sota usually was to the indoors, his attention focused on his studies. But Sota had eventually realized that this didn't quite cover the "worldly" aspect of his character. By all notions, the idea of an intellectual character in a fantasy setting would have ruled out any possibility of that character being well-travelled, which meant the monk archetype was probably not the solution to lean towards.

Then the thought had come to him that, instead of depicting Albert as a western style monk, he could instead alter the design to appear more as that of a bard. Bards in fantasy genres were traditionally well-travelled, and were usually renowned storytellers, indicating that there was a potential that they might also be well-read. While many could also be depicted as thieves, Sota instead leaned more heavily into the artistic depiction, giving Albert an appearance more similar to that of a Renaissance artist, with long brown hair and a red beret and cape. After designing him sitting at a desk with quill and ink, he began to bear a resemblance to a romanticized version of William Shakespeare, the proverbial bard himself.

It made sense, Sota had thought as he sketched out the design. He would avoid making Albert into a cookie cutter anime protagonist, and instead break the mold by making him into more of a support type character. His bard didn't have to be a swindler or a charmer, nor did he have to be a nerdy shut-in. Albert could simply be versed in the arts, maybe raised from a well-to-do family, classically trained, and perhaps struck with a bit wanderlust. In a word, "worldly."

Now that he had been given the chance to sleep on his decision, Sota looked at his two renditions with trepidation. The monk character definitely bore more of a resemblance, with his friar's habit and brown bowl cut and wide, circular spectacles and overall nerdy appearance. The bard, on the other hand, reflected what Sota aspired to be – adventurous, intellectual, handsome, charming – and above all, creative. It occurred to Sota that his own desire to be a Creator was reflected in the nature of the character he had depicted of himself: a Renaissance artist, who travelled the world, studying stories from around the globe, and retelling them with his own unique spin. This might not have been the true identity of Sota's character, but if ever Camus were to have a love interest…

Sota paused and thought for a moment. Meteora had made no mention that Camus and Albert were to be romantically entangled. He thought that maybe it should go without saying – after all, his role in her story was that of a guide, showing her the ways of the world. The implication that the two of them might get involved would certainly come up – and knowing how fans usually operated, it could easily become a topic for discussion. And then there was unspoken fact that these three characters, Camus, Roslyn and Albert, were quite clearly based on Meteora, Selesia and himself. It would doubtlessly make things awkward if their characters suddenly got involved like that.

Sota shook his head. It was presumptuous of him to even imagine it would turn out like that. Meteora had specifically said that Camus had _two_ guides, and for all he knew, Camus might very well end up falling for Roslyn. That, or Albert himself might fall for Roslyn. They might even fall into a love triangle. Who could say? It was Meteora's story, and she was specifically writing this from Camus' perspective. Would it make for a more compelling story for her character to become curious about her two companions? It was all ultimately up to Meteora herself.

Speaking of whom, where _was_ Meteora anyway? Sota checked his phone and saw that half an hour had already passed. He tried calling her phone once again to no avail, and was about to get up to leave when he heard voice outside the door to the studio, before it was pushed open.

Thinking it was another student who had reserved the room for that time slot, proving his theory that he had simply gotten the time wrong for his own appointment, Sota shot to his feet, fully prepared to offer an apology. He was surprised, however, when he saw a familiar face greet his eyes.

"Marine?"

The chipper expression of the former illustrator for the Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier light novel was beaming directly at him, the demure and helpless face of Sota's collaboration partner standing behind her.

"Hey Sota!" Marine practically glowed. "So good to see you again! Hope you don't mind me dropping by! May I come in?"

"Marine?" Sota repeated as she pushed past him into the studio. "I…I guess so. What are you doing here?"

Marine wasn't even paying attention to Sota. Instead, she was gushing at all the fancy art tools around the studio she could find.

"Oooh, are these those new Copic markers?" she beamed, her eyes practically sparkling with delight. "And look at this Wacom tablet! Boy, college kids these days sure have access to a lot of neat stuff!"

Sota threw a quick glance towards Meteora, who was still waiting outside the door, and fixing him with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Sota," she said, guiltily. "We met en-route to our appointment and became distracted. When I explained to her where I was headed, she insisted I bring her along."

Sota watched as Marine traipsed about the studio like a kid in a candy store, eying the hardware and touching everything.

"When Meteora told me that you two were working on a manga together, I just _had_ to see for myself!" Marine said in a flighty voice as she inspected the digital printer. "I felt bad, because I know that studios can be expensive to rent and maintain, but if you can take advantage of student resources like this, then you two might be in better shape than I thought."

Marine adopted a melancholic expression.

"I wish I had these kinds of tools when _I_ was in school!"

Sota scratched his head, shyly. He had already been somewhat hesitant about what his next meeting with Meteora would entail. Throwing Marine into the mix threw any mental preparations he had made out the window.

"But anyway, I'm really proud of you both!" Marine said, clasping her hands together, finally facing them once again. "Starting a big project like this takes a lot of courage! I wish you both all the best! I know you're going to do _so_ well!"

Sota blushed, glancing back and forth between Marine and Meteora.

"Oh, um…thank you," he stammered.

Marine practically glowed as she beamed with excitement.

"So…if it's not too much to ask…" she said, her voice lilting as she tried and failed to sound coy about her interest, "Could I maybe, _possibly_ see what you have so far?"

Sota drew in a breath. Marine was a trusted friend, one of the few people who he could count on during the Border World Coliseum incident. But still, as a fellow artist, Marine knew as well as he did that sharing one's work was one of the most sensitive and personal questions one could ask of another. Especially at this early stage in their development.

He threw a questioning glance at Meteora. It was her work as much as it was his. She simply nodded, a helpless look on her face.

"Show her, Sota," she said.

Sota drew in his breath as he steeled himself.

"Alright," he said.

He sat down at the drafting table, pulling his sketchbooks back out, flipping them to the pages he had just been working on.

"We've got four solid characters so far," he began, as he elaborated on their creation, as Meteora and Marine sat upon the stools across from him as he laid out his work. "We were thinking of a fantasy setting…"

Marine listened in rapt fascination as Sota described the beginnings of their creation to her, outlining the basic premise, and the archetypes that each character would fulfil. He was rewarded with an inspired look from Meteora when he withdrew the designs he had devised the night before of Roslyn and Rien Nier, and she drew the loose leaves of papers to her to study their designs more closely.

"For Roslyn, I was thinking of a holy crusader design, so I gave her armor to match," Sota summarized. "We hadn't decided on an age yet, but I was playing with the idea of making her a bit younger than the other two main characters."

Meteora nodded while Marine observed the two collaborators as they worked, an appraising look in her eyes.

"That could work," she remarked. "She would be mature for her age, but indoctrinated into an order like hers, she would be more set in her ways. Still, it makes sense that she would have as much to learn from Camus as she would to teach her. I also like the scar you've given her too – it will provide good fodder for devising her back story."

"I'm getting some _tsundere_ vibes from her as well," Marine commented off-hand.

"It would fit her role in the story," Meteora allowed.

Sota nodded, before withdrawing his design for their antagonist.

"For Rien, I went with a luxurious bathhouse design," she said, swallowing a little as he watched the two women's reaction. "The way you described her, she seemed like a hedonistic sort of character with an appetite to match. I had someone in mind who regularly indulged in fine wines and delicacies, as well as…other things…"

Color rose to Sota's cheeks as he attempted to dance around the embarrassing subject matter. Meteora's face remained a mask of focus as she stared at the character design he had arrived at for Nier, while Marine's own face began to adopt a cheshire cat grin.

"My, my…" the older woman smiled wryly at the abundance of cleavage. "She's quite the looker, isn't she?"

Sota fought the urge to cover his face before Meteora came to his rescue.

"She's perfect," she stated simply. "This is just what I had in mind, Sota."

Sota's expression rose at her reaction. "You like it?"

Meteora nodded firmly. "I like them both. Rien is exactly the sort of villain I wanted her to look like, and the design for Roslyn gives me lots of ideas for where to take her character. I was somewhat unsure of how best to develop her story, being so unfamiliar with her archetype, but giving her room to grow like this is the perfect starting point."

Sota found himself beaming under the praise. He had been concerned that he was taking too many liberties with the designs, and was worried that Meteora would ask him to start all over again. That she seemed pleased with his work so far was high praise indeed. It was one thing to get positive criticism from strangers online. It was quite another to have pleased his collaboration partner. It gave him hope for their future prospects together, and…well, there was no denying that the delighted look on Meteora's face made his heart flutter just a little.

"Now we'll just need to figure out a design for Rien's dragon," Meteora commented.

The look of elation on Sota's face withered.

"Yeah, umm…I've never drawn a dragon before," he admitted. "I might need a bit of time to practice before I'm ready to tackle that design."

Meteora nodded, understandingly. "Take your time, Sota. This is a very good first step, and we are far from publishing anything at this time."

As the two of them spoke, Marine simply watched them, a look of approval on her face as she silently observed the two collaborators' dynamic.

"Hmmm…" she mused.

Meteora gave Sota's sketch pad an expectant look.

"What about Albert?" she inquired.

Sota's hesitant expression only deepened.

"That's where I'm running into a bit of a roadblock," he admitted, withdrawing the two designs he had landed on. "I came up with two distinct looks, and for the life of me, I can't decide which one best suits his character."

That captured both Meteora and Marine's interest as he laid the two sets of sketches on the table, the nerdy Christian monk on the right, and the roguish Renaissance bard on the left.

"At first, I thought I should go for a more realistic depiction, with Albert being more on the scholarly side," Sota explained, gesturing to the monk design. "But you mentioned that you wanted him to be more worldly, so I thought that maybe giving him the appearance of a Renaissance artist would be more fitting."

As the two ladies studied the two depictions, both had brows arched with interest.

"This one reminds me much more of _you_ , Sota," Marine offers, gesturing to the monk idly

Sota scratched his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, before gesturing to the bard. "This one is more of an idealized version of me, I guess."

Marine fixed him with an appraising look as she pondered his words. "Interesting…"

"I see," Meteora said, nodding skeptically as she stood up, having seemingly arrived at a decision. "Neither depiction seems to entirely capture the complete character I had imagined. As you cautioned, Sota, these _both_ seem to rely rather heavily on their archetype. And neither of them quite stands out as much as your other designs."

Sota hung his head in defeat. Well, he thought to himself, you win some you lose some. His designs for the other two characters had passed the mark, but the design he had come up with for his own had fallen short. This collaboration process was going to be a great deal more challenging than he had considered.

"Why not combine the two?" Marine considered. "If they're both supposed to be a Sota-like character, then wouldn't he have aspects of both?"

Sota and Meteora stared at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Marine shrugged. "Well, one of these reflects the archetype that you most resemble, while the other reflects the archetype that you aspire to be. So, use that – make this Albert someone who comes from a place of isolated study, like the one you've depicted _here_ …" she laid her hand over the monk "…but is trying to adopt the trappings of the persona you've outlined _here_ ," she touched her hand to the bard.

Sota considered for a moment, while Meteora watched him closely, a pensive look on her face. She said nothing as Sota wordlessly reached for his sketch pad, scribbling with a matte black pencil as ideas began to flow.

His brow furrowed in concentration as he sketched, the two women watching him in apprehensive silence. He seemed utterly engrossed in his work, not once lifting his eyes from his sketch pad as his hand flew across the paper, heedless of being observed in the heat of his craft.

By the time he was done, his hands were smeared with splotches of lead, his fingertips indented from clutching the pencil as he flipped his sketch book to present his creation.

The character on the page was an amalgamation, a nervous and curious young man with a clear thirst for knowledge. He was tall and lanky, wore the feathered beret of a renaissance artist, but carried enough books to compete with any scholar, their pages stuffed with bookmarks and other notes. His robes were that of a student out of Harry Potter, a satchel around his shoulder stuffed to the brim with scrolls and parcels, and a pair of round spectacles sat upon his nose.

He looked frazzled and unkempt, like he could barely keep up with the world, but the expression on his face spoke only of a longing to keep at it. His eyes held the knowledge of a hundred sleepless nights spent studying. He had the raiment of someone who had been exposed to just enough of the world to whet his appetite. And perhaps most importantly, like his two compatriots Roslyn and Camus, he had the appearance of one who had room to grow. There was a past there, but there was also an uncertain future, a design that evoked the imagination of the audience just enough to wonder what laid down his path. In every sense of the term, he appeared to be a much more fully fleshed out character.

"This is it," Meteora declared in a whisper as she stared, wide-eyed. "This is Albert. Sota, that's brilliant."

Sota took a long, steadying breath, his fingers sore from drawing so much.

"You…you really like it?" he asked, almost terrified.

"It's definitely an improvement," Marine nodded approvingly, looking over Meteora's shoulder. "He looks like a much more interesting character now. Someone much more layered and multi-dimensional, a young man of wide and varied interests. Just the sort of guy your female readers might like to take out for a coffee or something."

She blushed sheepishly a Sota's bewildered expression.

"Well, maybe just the intellectual ones," she allowed.

Meteora reached for the sketch pad to study the character more closely. "This is just how I imagined him. A student of many fields, but a master of none. Just experienced enough with the world to aid Camus on her journey, but still in the process of learning about it himself."

Meteora fixed Sota with a look of admiration and pride.

"Sota, he's perfect," she said with unabashed joy.

The young man let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"I'm so glad," he sighed.

Sota felt a wave of relief wash over him. Not only had he developed a character design that his collaboration partner approved of, but in a way, the fact that this was a character more or less modelled after himself, it gave him some clarity on his own position in life. He didn't belong in just one box, the way he'd been trying to depict the character. He was a being of many aspects, and shouldn't be afraid to branch out. He may never fully become the idealized bard that he imagined. But neither did he need to be the nerdy shut-in depicted by his monk archetype. He was allowed to be his own character, with as many different facets as he could imagine.

Marine and Meteora were still talking as Sota's thoughts drifted, finding himself scribbling in his sketchbook once again.

"Have you considered a medium yet?" Marine asked.

The way Meteora tilted her head was more adorable than Sota would ever admit, though he was attempting to keep his focus on his sketchpad.

"I was going to go with a print media," Meteora said to Marine. "Is that not the classic way that manga are distributed?"

Marine sighed, nodding.

"Well, yes," she said. "But even I have to admit that print media is an uphill battle. It's expensive to find a publisher, and sales have been dropping year by year. You can still get ahead in the print market, but it's a competitive field. Most artists sign on with a weekly publishing distributor, like _Weekly Shounen Jump_. And since your idea thus far doesn't really fall into the shounen genre, you'd have to find a publisher with an audience that suits your manga's needs – or more precisely, a publisher whose audience' needs are something to which your manga can specifically cater."

Meteora pursed her lips, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"What about Kikuchihara?" she asked. "She became a publisher upon her resignation from the SDF, did she not?"

Marine's eyes widened in delight. "That's a splendid idea! She and I have stayed in touch ever since the Border World Coliseum! I'll drop her a line! I'm sure she'd be able to help you guys out! She may not be able to sign you onto a publishing contract right away, but she should be able to give you a referral at the very least!"

Meteora gave the other woman a surprised look.

"You would reach out to her on our behalf?" she asked.

"Of course!" Marine exclaimed. "Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to see how you two do on your collaboration project! If I can be of any help, I'll gladly lend a hand!"

Meteora's face widened into a smile.

"Thank you, Marine," she smiled.

Sota had been sketching all the while the two ladies had been talking, and before long, his phone chimed with a notification alert.

"Oh, that's our time," he sat up abruptly. "We better get going before the next student needs this room."

Marine threw Sota a helpless look.

"I guess that's the drawback of using a University studio," she observed. "Limited time use."

Sota smiled. "I suppose so. But it'll suffice for now."

Marine pursed her lips. "Still, it'd be nice if you had a more full-time studio…"

Meteora glanced at Sota's sketchbook as he began packing his pencils and other supplies into his bag.

"What's this?" she asked.

Sota looked up and his cheeks colored slightly.

"Oh, just…thought I should draw our three main character together, now that I have a solid idea for all of them."

Meteora looked at what he'd been drawing, and felt her heart melt a little as she saw her three creations – _their_ three creations – lined up side by side. Camus stood at the center, a look of curiosity and wonder in her eyes. To her left stood Roslyn, a determined look on her face as she stood tall and devout, and on her right stood Albert, trying feebly to keep his things in order. They stood in such a way that they appeared to already be friends, even though she hadn't even yet planned out how the characters would even meet in her story. Still, the image filled her with confidence that their creation would be a good one.

"This is a good start, Sota," she assured him, a fond look in her eyes. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can create together."

Sota's face was a flustered smile.

"Me too," he said, hurrying to gather the rest of his things. "Me too."

Meteora left Sota to finish packing as she exited the studio to find Marine waiting for her just outside the door.

"I'm really proud of you, Meteora," she said as the two of them began walking down the hallway to the exit of the art building. "A collaboration is a challenging endeavor, but you're already making such great strides. It really fills me with inspiration."

"Me too," Meteora agreed with a smile.

She liked spending time with Marine, she decided. The two of them didn't get a chance to fraternize very often, but now that she was in the midst of another creation, they had plenty to talk about.

"I see what you mean about Sota, though," Marine said conspiratorially, after they were some distance away from the studio. "He seems to hang on your every word."

"What do you mean?" Meteora asked, a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Marine sighed wistfully. "Well, all I can say is, if a guy drew _me_ the way he drew _you_ , especially in that _one_ particular sketch, I'd be _very_ curious as to how he really saw me."

Meteora felt her cheeks coloring. When she had run into Marine prior to her meeting with Sota, she had let slip some of her concerns from their previous conversation. She was beginning to question the wisdom of this decision.

"Sota and I are collaboration partners," Meteora declared. "We are friends."

"Oh, I'm sure you are," Marine nodded cheekily. "But I'd be curious if our dear friend Sota wouldn't be interested in something more."

Meteora felt herself grow speechless, her entire face becoming red as the full implications of Marine's words began to sink in.

Something…more?

As a Creation, Meteora had never been more than an NPC, a source of player information. After manifesting within the real world, she had been exposed to a world of possibility, where her free will could dictate any number of possible roads for her to follow. Interpersonal relationships had been at the focal point of many of these roads, but…if she was interpreting Marine correctly, then she was suggesting that Meteora might take a very bold step in her relationship with Sota. One she was not at all certain about.

Meteora seemed lost in her thoughts as the two of them exited the building and stepped out on the urban campus of the Toudai Art Institute, and Marine fixed her with a maternal look.

"Be careful, Meteora," she said in a cautioning tone. "Relationships can really screw up a collaboration project if you don't watch out. You two would make a really cute couple, but I'm sure you don't want that to get in the way of your creation either."

Meteora swallowed, a cold knot of fear forming in her stomach. She hadn't even considered what the possibility of a deeper relationship with Sota might mean for their collaboration, but given what she knew of the young man's emotional state particularly after what happened with Setsuna Shimazaki, then she knew that she must be cautious not to let him get hurt. Sota was still quite fragile in many ways, and if what she knew of human interactions held true for him, then she knew that it was well within her capacity to hurt him in a very similar capacity, even by accident. It was very unlikely that their collaboration project wouldn't suffer as a result, to say nothing of their lasting friendship in the long term.

She valued Sota so much as an individual. Was it worth jeopardizing the relationship she already had with him for the sake of exploring something deeper? The implications were simply too profound to consider.

Sensing her distress, Marine held her hands up defensively.

"Hey now, don't worry about it," she said hurriedly. "It's none of my business anyway. You just sounded like you wanted some advice. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have butted in."

Meteora looked up and shook her head.

"No, no," she assured the other woman. "Thank you, Marine. You've given me much to think on."

Marine smiled reassuringly.

"Trust your instincts, Meteora," she said. "Your wisdom saw us through in the Border World Colliseum. I'm sure you can handle things with Sota just fine."

Meteora nodded, still somewhat distracted. "Thank you."

Marine stretched as she glanced at the watch on her wrist.

"Well, I better get going," she announced. "I've got a portfolio of my own to work on. The life of a freelance drafting artist is never easy."

Meteora nodded. Marine had been without a fulltime job ever since the last publication of Vogelchevalier, but she was still in good spirits about it. She was a talented artist, Meteora knew. She would find work soon enough.

"Take care, Marine," she said in farewell. "Thank you for all your help today."

"Of course," Marine waved as she headed down the street towards the subway. "I'll let you know once I hear back from Kikuchihara!"

Meteora waved goodbye as she watched her friend take off, her mind more full of questions and uncertainty than it had at the beginning of the day. Their collaboration was proceeding smoothly, but there were so many obstacles yet to climb. Now that her creations had faces of their own, how would they act around one another? How will she progress their story? How were she and Sota to find publication? And how would the coming weeks and months change her relationship with her collaboration partner? Did she even _want_ it to change?

Did he?

Puzzled and lost for answers, Meteora made her way home.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Writer's block's a bitch.


End file.
